cpadmin@publicbroadcasting.netNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Deborah Amos covers the Middle East for NPR News. Her reports can be heard on NPR's award-winning Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition.Amos travels extensively across the Middle East covering a range of stories including the rise of well-educated Syria youth who are unqualified for jobs in a market-drive economy, a series focusing on the emerging power of Turkey and the plight of Iraqi refugees.In 2009, Amos won the Edward Weintal Prize for Diplomatic Reporting from Georgetown University and in 2010 was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Life Time Achievement Award by Washington State University. Amos was part of a team of reporters who won a 2004 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award for coverage of Iraq. A Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1991-1992, Amos was returned to Harvard in 2010 as a Shorenstein Fellow at the Kennedy School.In 2003, Amos returned to NPR after a decade in television news, including ABC's Nightline and World News Tonight and the PBS programs NOWNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Deborah AmosSat, 06 Aug 2016 07:22:29 +0000Deborah Amoshttp://wemu.org
Deborah AmosThe Obama administration is on track to make its goal of admitting and resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees before the end of September, despite concerns that Islamic militants could enter with them."The current pace of arrivals will continue thru the end of this fiscal year so we may exceed 10,000," said Anne Richard, assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugee and Migration in a conference call with reporters on Friday. "For next year, we will continue to welcome large numbers of Syrians."After a slow start, the resettlements accelerated to 8,000 by early August; Syrian who have fled violence and persecution in their country's brutal civil war. More than half of the arrivals are under 18, according to Richard."It is moving fast. The month of July has been our busiest month," says Mahmoud Mahmoud, director of Church World Service in Jersey City, New Jersey. Church World Service is one of nine official resettlement agencies that implements the federal program. TheU.S. Is On Target To Accept And Resettle 10,000 Syrian Refugeeshttp://wemu.org/post/us-target-accept-and-resettle-10000-syrian-refugees
79985 as http://wemu.orgFri, 05 Aug 2016 21:46:00 +0000U.S. Is On Target To Accept And Resettle 10,000 Syrian RefugeesDeborah AmosHere's something that never used to happen in Saudi Arabia:In the wake of the crisis with Iran, Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's deputy crown prince and defense minister, as well as King Salman's favored son, gave a five-hour interview to a reporter from The Economist, and the British news magazine published the entire transcript.This is a land where senior figures have rarely given on-the-record interviews. So it was striking that he had so much time to spend with a Western reporter at such a tense moment. Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric on Jan. 2. An Iranian mob then attacked the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, which resulted in the Saudis breaking diplomatic relations with Iran.Also noteworthy, the reporter was shown in a picture that accompanied the interview. While The Economist does not give bylines, the photo showed a female reporter without head cover or abaya, an unusual break from the traditional Saudi dress code, particularly for an interview with someone asLong Guarded And Reserved, Saudi Arabia Goes Big And Bold http://wemu.org/post/long-guarded-and-reserved-saudi-arabia-goes-big-and-bold
71426 as http://wemu.orgTue, 12 Jan 2016 17:29:00 +0000Long Guarded And Reserved, Saudi Arabia Goes Big And Bold Deborah AmosI first saw Saudi Arabian women "pushing normal" before I knew this concept had a name. I was walking down Tahlia Street in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. It's a trendy weekend hangout spot, a strip of fast food burger and brand name coffee shops popular with young Saudi men.It was striking to see three young women stride down this all-male domain defying the kingdom's conservative social codes enforced by the religious police and the judgments of family and neighbors."But if we listen to them, stay home, and not enjoy our lives, it's going to be like this forever," says Sadeem, age 17. Her friends, Amira, 18, and Yasmin, 16, nod in agreement, though none reveal their last names.It's risky, they acknowledge, in a country that prohibits men and women mixing in public. Still, these high school students insist that Saudi Arabia is changing fast."For example, we are out here right now," says Sadeem. "A few years ago that would be impossible. There is no way that a girl our age could walkIn Ways Big And Small, Saudi Arabian Women Are 'Pushing Normal'http://wemu.org/post/ways-big-and-small-saudi-arabian-women-are-pushing-normal
70973 as http://wemu.orgWed, 30 Dec 2015 17:41:00 +0000In Ways Big And Small, Saudi Arabian Women Are 'Pushing Normal'Deborah AmosThe first Saudi Arabian women to vote celebrated with hugs and selfies and lingered at the polls to share the moment on Saturday. Women won only 20 seats out of more than 2,000 in local councils across the country, but it was more than the candidates expected.In the western coastal city of Jeddah, one winner was Lama al-Suleiman, a prominent businesswoman and British-trained biochemist. She says the toughest campaign battle was fighting tradition in a male-dominated society."The men have been very cynical, so I find that women mimic what the men say," she notes. "The big father figure at home says, 'Well, what did the municipal council do before.' It's a very patriarchal society here."Suleiman had support from men. She was elected twice to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and now serves as vice president of the business organization. In the local municipal election, she ran a highly professional social media campaign to appeal to a wider group of voters."These have been much moreSaudi Women: Elections Are One Step Forward On A Long Road http://wemu.org/post/saudi-women-elections-are-one-step-forward-long-road
70379 as http://wemu.orgMon, 14 Dec 2015 19:23:00 +0000Saudi Women: Elections Are One Step Forward On A Long Road Deborah AmosCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit CORY TURNER, HOST: Over the weekend, women in Saudi Arabia voted for the first time and also won elections for the first time. Women could not drive to the polls. It's the only country where they're banned from driving. Yet, they were allowed to participate once they arrived.STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: NPR's Deborah Amos is in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah. She's on the line. And Deborah, what was election day like?DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE: Well, polling stations here were segregated. So I could only go to the female side. I went to a local school in Jeddah. And you would recognize it. There were voting boxes and paper ballots. But there were women taking selfies after they voted. The candidates stayed all day. There was coffee and cookies. It was a celebration. Female registration was low because there were bureaucratic hurdles and lack of awareness. They couldn't drive themselves to registration. But for those who did sign up, 80 percent of them showedFor The First Time, Women Elected To Municipal Councils In Saudi Arabiahttp://wemu.org/post/first-time-women-elected-municipal-councils-saudi-arabia
70369 as http://wemu.orgMon, 14 Dec 2015 12:31:00 +0000For The First Time, Women Elected To Municipal Councils In Saudi ArabiaDeborah AmosFor young Saudis, life is conducted online, on phones and on gaming platforms. Saudi Arabia is a young country. The fastest-growing segment of the population is under 30 years old. In this deeply conservative society, with its strict moral codes of behavior and gender segregation, many young Saudis turn to social media and technology to entertain and express themselves.For women, especially, it's a social revolution.In a Riyadh hotel ballroom, virtual reality meets real life at GCON, an annual convention for young women who love video games and grew up playing them with their siblings.GCON was born after female gamers were barred from an all-male gaming convention in 2011. GCON co-founders Tasneem Salim and Felwa al-Swailem persuaded big gaming brands to back an all-female convention by convincing them there was a huge market among Saudi females.This year's event, the fourth, was the largest ever in the capital and expanded to a second city as well. In this gender-segregated society,For Young Saudi Women, Video Games Offer Self-Expressionhttp://wemu.org/post/young-saudi-women-video-games-offer-self-expression
70172 as http://wemu.orgWed, 09 Dec 2015 10:26:00 +0000For Young Saudi Women, Video Games Offer Self-ExpressionDeborah AmosThe State Department has approved a $1.29 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, which includes as many as 13,000 precision guided weapons or smart bombs. The sale comes as Human Rights Watch charges that Saudi airstrikes in Yemen "have indiscriminately killed and injured civilians."Congress was notified of the sale on Nov. 13 and has 30 days to block the deal — unlikely because congressional staffers have already carefully reviewed the sale. It now appears set to go through this week as part of the Obama administration's pledge to boost military support for Gulf states, after negotiating a nuclear deal with regional rival Iran.A Saudi-led coalition launched an air war in Yemen in March. The Saudi royals pledged a quick victory after Houthi rebels seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and ousted the Saudi-backed government.For the Saudis and Gulf allies, the Houthis, supported by Iran, are a proxy for Iranian expansion in the region. The Saudis have vowed to counter Iran. But the war hasHuman Rights Groups Criticize U.S. Arms Sale To Saudi Arabiahttp://wemu.org/post/human-rights-groups-criticize-us-arms-sale-saudi-arabia
70167 as http://wemu.orgTue, 08 Dec 2015 22:55:00 +0000Human Rights Groups Criticize U.S. Arms Sale To Saudi ArabiaDeborah AmosIt's election season in Saudi Arabia, and for the first time, women can vote and campaign for seats on local municipal councils. More than 900 women have put themselves forward as candidates. The ballot is next week, in a small and limited step towards democracy.At a political meeting for women in Riyadh, professors, writers and activists gather to talk about the campaign. There are jugs of strong coffee and a snack table. Smartphones are held close.Everything is new, says Hatoon al-Fassi, a Saudi professor and leading women's rights activist. It's about more than getting the vote; it's introducing women in this conservative society into public life."Being in the public [is] very frightening, very intimidating, very all sorts of things," she says. "We are doing things from scratch. We are having baby steps into this world of democracy."Baby steps because the obstacles are so huge. The campaign rules are a list of no's: No pictures on campaign literature. Women can't contact voters onFor Saudi Women, 'Baby Steps Into This World Of Democracy'http://wemu.org/post/saudi-women-baby-steps-world-democracy
69898 as http://wemu.orgWed, 02 Dec 2015 22:28:00 +0000For Saudi Women, 'Baby Steps Into This World Of Democracy'Deborah AmosCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Switching gears now, it's been difficult for outsiders to get a full picture of the Syrian war. Mostly we've seen it through the images of extreme violence and refugees streaming into Europe. But a Syrian film collective is showing the inside, personal view of the war. The group, Abounaddara, has posted more than 300 short documentaries. Now it's been recognized with a prestigious prize and a showing at The New School in New York. NPR's Deborah Amos was there and sent this report.DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE: And the winner is A Man With Glasses. That's the English translation of Abounaddara, a collective of Syrian filmmakers. This award recognizes its provocative lens on the Syrian conflict. Short videos, from one to six minutes, that tell hidden stories of the war. Charif Kiwan, spokesman for the group, says the short format is intimate and powerful.CHARIF KIWAN: We choose short format because we wanted to punch people.AMOS: PunchFilms About Syrian Civil War Move From Online To New York Galleryhttp://wemu.org/post/films-about-syrian-civil-war-move-online-new-york-gallery
68632 as http://wemu.orgSat, 31 Oct 2015 21:38:00 +0000Films About Syrian Civil War Move From Online To New York GalleryDeborah AmosAs more Syrian refugees board rickety boats on the Turkish coast, the Islamic State is cranking up its propaganda campaign.The refugee crisis is also becoming a crisis for ISIS, as Syrians reject the group's claim that the so-called caliphate offers a safe haven, and the refugees instead opt for the dangerous journey to Europe.In recent weeks, ISIS has put out almost a dozen videos with messages that denounce the refugees, threaten them with the horrors of living among "unbelievers" and plead with them to join the caliphate."The idea that they are not heading to 'ISIS land' is a slap in the face," says Alberto Fernandez, who ran the State Department's counterterrorism communications unit before recently joining the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI."They are leaving because their relatives were killed by Assad," he says of the refugees. "That's the ISIS demographic, but the people brutalized by Assad are not turning to ISIS."And that has rattled the group, according toThe Flood Of Syrian Refugees Puts ISIS On The Defensive http://wemu.org/post/flood-syrian-refugees-puts-isis-defensive
66970 as http://wemu.orgTue, 22 Sep 2015 17:52:00 +0000The Flood Of Syrian Refugees Puts ISIS On The Defensive Deborah AmosSyria doesn't have a history of free and open elections, but in the past few weeks Syrians have been voting with their feet. After four years of brutal civil war, Syrians are registering a sense of hopelessness and are willing to risk dangerous journeys for a chance to start over again in Europe.As the numbers mount, with Europe overwhelmed, the blame game has begun. Why don't the richest Gulf Arab states — the diplomatic and financial sponsors of Syria's rebel groups — resettle these desperate refugees?Even Gulf Arab citizens are raising the question: #ShameOnArabRulers is trending on Middle Eastern Twitter accounts."Why don't you let them in, you discourteous people?" was the punchline of a cartoon in a Saudi newspaper.Gulf officials are on the defensive and have been forced to address the issue publicly. "We see criticism that does not correspond to the reality,"Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, said at a recent Arab League meeting.The Saudi ForeignGulf States Fend Off Criticism About Doing Little For Syrian Refugeeshttp://wemu.org/post/gulf-states-fend-criticism-about-doing-little-syrian-refugees
66861 as http://wemu.orgSun, 20 Sep 2015 11:03:00 +0000Gulf States Fend Off Criticism About Doing Little For Syrian RefugeesDeborah AmosHiba Ezzideen, a 29-year-old Syrian activist, recently made it to a refugee camp near the German border after a perilous 20-day journey. She had set off alone from southern Turkey, walked for hours, rode in a sealed truck, boarded an overcrowded raft and slept on the streets and in a jail cell.A college English professor before the war, Ezzideen first joined the protests against Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2011 and hoped the popular demonstration could transform her country.She founded the first women's center in Syria's northwestern city of Idlib after rebels liberated the surrounding countryside. When radical Islamists took control of Idlib, a provincial capital, earlier this year she organized journalists and activists to challenge them. When militants threatened to kill her, she fled to Turkey and continued her work.But a few weeks ago her hope ran out that there would be a resolution to the Syrian war anytime soon. So she, like so many others this summer, headed to Europe.Surge Of Refugees In Europe Could Be Just The First Wave http://wemu.org/post/surge-refugees-europe-could-be-just-first-wave
66414 as http://wemu.orgWed, 09 Sep 2015 20:08:00 +0000Surge Of Refugees In Europe Could Be Just The First Wave Deborah AmosIt's the summer session at the Al Salam School in Reyhanli, a town in southern Turkey, just across the border from Syria. Girls are practicing their shots on the outdoor basketball court. A class of 8-year-olds is busy with English language drills. The computer lab is open.Many of these Syrian refugees live in desperate conditions, but for a few hours a day there is the familiar world of school.Al Salam School is one of the few success stories in an education disaster for Syria. More than 2.6 million Syrian children have not been in school for three years or more, according to a recent UNICEF report."We had a lot of students who missed one or two years from their academic years," says Hazar al-Mahayni, the principal and founder of Al Salam. "So we try in summer to give them the chance to pass a full year in three months."Mahayni, a 63-year-old pharmacist from Montreal, opened Al Salam in 2012. Born in Damascus, she moved to Canada with her family 20 years ago. When the Syrian crisisA Syrian Refugee School: Nearly 2,000 Students, 5 Shifts, 3 Languageshttp://wemu.org/post/syrian-refugee-school-nearly-2000-students-5-shifts-3-languages
65015 as http://wemu.orgWed, 05 Aug 2015 08:04:00 +0000A Syrian Refugee School: Nearly 2,000 Students, 5 Shifts, 3 LanguagesDeborah AmosCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: On a trip to the Middle East this week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said he had good meetings in Saudi Arabia with leaders there about the nuclear deal with Iran. That would mark a change of heart. The Saudis are regional rivals with Iran and had seemed opposed to the deal. Under the agreement, the U.S. and other world powers would lift economic sanctions if Iran curbs its nuclear program. We are joined now by NPR's Deborah Amos, who covers Saudi Arabia. She's in New York today. And, Deborah, what are the latest reactions from Saudi Arabia to the Iran deal?DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE: I think you have to say that the Saudis are playing the good ally as President Obama is putting in this huge effort to sell the nuclear deal at home. The foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, gave the most public endorsement on Thursday, and he said that any deal that curbs Tehran's ability to get a nuclear weapon is welcome. The Gulf states areSaudi Arabia Softens Opposition To Iran Nuclear Deal http://wemu.org/post/saudi-arabia-softens-opposition-iran-nuclear-deal
64572 as http://wemu.orgFri, 24 Jul 2015 21:19:00 +0000Saudi Arabia Softens Opposition To Iran Nuclear Deal Deborah AmosWhen Syrian activists launched an uprising in 2011, their goal was clear: to overthrow the regime of President Bashar Assad. Now, as the war grinds into a fifth year, with more than 200,000 dead and militant Islamists seizing more ground, their revolt is hardly recognizable."What we are doing now has nothing to do with what we expected to be doing," says Rami Jarrah, who joined early street protests in Damascus. He eventually fled the country to avoid arrest. Now he runs a radio station from southern Turkey, funded by Syrians and Western governments including the U.S., that broadcasts to rebel-controlled territory in northern Syria."It's been a long time since we challenged the regime," he says.The challenge now is to provide a lifeline for civilians in rebel-held areas, to help them navigate the chaos of war and a state in collapse.Jarrah has watched his agenda — the fight for a democratic, civil, inclusive Syrian state — lose ground to Islamists who have been implementing IslamicAs Challenges Shift, Syria's Moderates Navigate Unexpected Territoryhttp://wemu.org/post/syrias-moderates-not-what-we-expected
64435 as http://wemu.orgWed, 22 Jul 2015 09:09:00 +0000As Challenges Shift, Syria's Moderates Navigate Unexpected TerritoryDeborah AmosCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: Photos from inside Syria's brutal security state will be shown in Congress tomorrow. It's an exhibit by the Syrian opposition and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The photos are graphic. They were smuggled out of Syria by a regime photographer - a military officer - who had the job of documenting the deaths of some 11,000 detainees. Activists put the photos online, and Syrians are searching them for missing loved ones. NPR's Deborah Amos reports on the effort from Istanbul.DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE: On a quiet side street in a barely furnished office, a group of Syrians are documenting the horrors of a vast prison system inside their country. Dr. Mohammad Ayash inspects each photo on his computer screen. A physician, he once treated the living in Syria. Now he carefully examines the dead - thousands of high-resolution photos the police defectors smuggled out. It's a deeply disturbing task.MOHAMMAD AYASH: I describe whatSmuggled Photos Document Thousands Of Detainee Deaths In Syriahttp://wemu.org/post/smuggled-photos-document-thousands-detainee-deaths-syria
64153 as http://wemu.orgTue, 14 Jul 2015 20:31:00 +0000Smuggled Photos Document Thousands Of Detainee Deaths In SyriaDeborah AmosA Syrian forensic photographer, who now uses the pseudonym Caesar, documented the death of thousands of detainees in Syria's brutal prison system. He made more than 55,000 high-resolution images before he fled the country, fearing for his safety, in 2013.He spoke publicly for the first time in July 2014, when he appeared before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, wearing a blue jacket with a hood to protect his identity.Dozens of Caesar's photographs will be displayed again in the halls of Congress on Wednesday. The exhibition is sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in cooperation with the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee.The graphic images show beaten and bruised bodies, many are skeletal, most with signs of torture. Now, Syrian families are searching the photos online after Syrian opposition groups posted more than 6,000 images in March.NPR spoke to a member of the group that posted the pictures, as well as a friend whoDocumenting Death Inside Syria's Secret Prisons http://wemu.org/post/documenting-death-inside-syrias-secret-prisons
64111 as http://wemu.orgTue, 14 Jul 2015 07:42:00 +0000Documenting Death Inside Syria's Secret Prisons Deborah AmosCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: Christians living through Syria's civil war face a new threat as an Islamist rebel alliance surges in the country's north. Today, in the heaviest fighting for months, the Islamist alliance launched an attempt to seize the key city of Aleppo from government forces. With backing from U.S. allies, like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, this rebel coalition fights both the Syrian regime and the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS. But the coalition has extremists in its own ranks who have mistreated Christians and forced them out of their homes. NPR's Deborah Amos went to Turkey, to the city Antakya, to meet a priest who was kidnapped by those militants last March.(SOUNDBITE OF CHURCH BELLS)DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE: This is a historic neighborhood where organized Christianity began here in southern Turkey - a place once known as Antioch, where Christians trace their roots back to the early church. And across the nearby border in Syria, ChristianSyrian Christians Face New Threat From Rebel Alliancehttp://wemu.org/post/syrian-christians-face-new-threat-rebel-alliance
63718 as http://wemu.orgFri, 03 Jul 2015 20:28:00 +0000Syrian Christians Face New Threat From Rebel AllianceDeborah AmosWhen Houthi rebels stormed Yemen's capital in January, President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi was driven from power and placed under house arrest. He escaped and then fled by sea in March. Now, Hadi and his top ministers are comfortably ensconced in a five-star guest palace in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh.While the surrounding may be pleasant, the wait is wearing. Hadi and his aides still dream of a triumphant return home, though optimism is in short supply.The ornate lobby where they are housed has become a playground for their children, while Hadi and his men, dressed in dark business suits, spend hours watching the news and keeping in touch with supporters back home on Facebook.Saudi Arabia is still backing Hadi and has been bombing the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, for close to three months. This hasn't changed the balance of power on the ground, but Yemen's humanitarian crisis continues to worsen, with an estimated 2,000 dead and a million displaced by the fighting, according toFor Yemen's Ousted President, A Five-Star Exile With No End In Sighthttp://wemu.org/post/yemens-ex-president-five-star-exile-no-end-sight
62911 as http://wemu.orgSun, 14 Jun 2015 13:28:00 +0000For Yemen's Ousted President, A Five-Star Exile With No End In SightDeborah AmosCopyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Saudi Arabia's King Shakes Up Region With Assertive Foreign Policyhttp://wemu.org/post/saudi-arabias-king-shakes-region-assertive-foreign-policy
62779 as http://wemu.orgThu, 11 Jun 2015 09:02:00 +0000Saudi Arabia's King Shakes Up Region With Assertive Foreign Policy